BIBLE MEDITATION: John 16:33; “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.
In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
ENCOURAGING WORD:
Let me start out by saying right up front, if you are a true born-again believer, you will suffer some form of persecution throughout you walk, whether it be in the form of spiritual, physical or emotional, you will not escape the inevitable. Sure, none of us look forward to it, but it is a necessary component of our spiritual walk. I’m going to share verses from the Bible that you most likely have never heard from the pulpits of the Mega churches. These churches that I am referring to are those who we refer to as secure sensitive and prosperity churches. I’m not going to mention any by name other than to say, these pastors have millions of dollars, jets and all kinds of very expensive toys at the expense of the thousands of followers that they continue to lie too. They are also known as wolves in sheep’s clothing as we read in the following Bible verse.
Matthew 7:15; “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.”
There are many who fit this description, but none so obvious as the ones that I described a minute ago. They teach that if you give lots of money to their church and give your life to Jesus Christ you will have prosperity like never before. They tell you your life will be full of joy and peace, and everything will be wonderful. If you are listening to a church that shares this false message, get out and find a church that teaches you the truth.
Here is the main reason why this kind of church is so dangerous. What if you believe what you are being told that you give money to this church, you accept Jesus under these false teachings, and then suddenly tragedy comes into your life. What will most likely be your response? You will say, “I didn’t sign up for this and I’m not going to continue to believe on Jesus Christ.” This will happen because you were not told the truth right up front as to what will happen when you give your life over to Jesus Christ.
Here is where I am going to share scriptures right out of the Bible and in some cases right from the mouth of Jesus Christ.
Let me start out in 2 Timothy 3:12; “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”
Does it say that you might suffer persecution, no, it says you will suffer persecution. Then we also read in,
Matthew 5:10; “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Once again, doesn’t it sound like persecution is a prerequisite condition for those that will enter the kingdom of heaven? You know why you won’t hear this kind of teaching from most of the pulpits of today, it’s because they know that you don’t want to hear this kind of teaching and you will most likely leave the church if they tell you the truth. Pastors of today are aware of this and therefore, they will only tell their congregations what they want to hear because they can’t afford to lose the income that comes from these people. They would rather continue to lie and gather the tithes that come as a result of it. They will continue to tell them just what they want to hear, not what they need to hear. What does the Bible say about this, I’m glad you asked.
We read in 2 Timothy 4: 3-4; “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables.”
Once again, the Bible makes it very clear what will happen in the end of days, and yes, we are there just as prophesied thousands of years ago. You know why you won’t hear this teaching from your pastor, it’s because they are the ones that are guilty of fulfilling this prophecy. If you are a Born-again believer and you are going through trials and tribulation, know this, you are not alone. I can say that almost every true born-again believer that I personally know is going through persecution, some in the form of health, some in the form of finances, some are losing loved ones or pets, and in my case, I am going through spiritual persecution like never before. The demons of the demonic world are working harder than ever before because they know that they have a short time to accomplish their agenda. In case you don’t know what that is, it is Satan trying to decrease the surface population, especially the Jews and Christians. If Satan can annihilate all the Jews and Christians then he will gain victory over Jesus, and thwart Gods plan, because Jesus told the Jews as we read in the following Bible verse,
Matthew 23:29; “for I say to you, (The Jews) you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’”
Jesus is telling the Jews, that because they rejected Him as their Messiah, He would not come back until they acknowledged that He is their Messiah and that is the main purpose of the tribulation period that is on the near horizon. If there are no Jews left, there will be no one to call on Jesus to return and Satan would win. Can you see a pattern that is happening in our country as we speak. There is a world agenda that is bent on decreasing the world population, and this is being done through various ways. At the risk of upsetting many people, I have to say the two main ways they are trying to accomplish this is through abortion and gay marriage, two sure fire way of keeping the population at bay. Now I want to share a few more Bible verse that are very clear on what I am trying to get across.
Matthew 5:11; “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.”
Once again, I can relate. I have very few friends anymore that I know of because of what I stand for, but I am okay with it because of the following Bible verse spoken of by Jesus Christ.
John 15:18; “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.”
I can tell you with complete honesty, I am not happy that I have lost so many friends, but if I have the choice to serve man and reject Jesus, or reject the world and stand for Jesus, to me, it is a no brainer. Eternity is a long time! When we stand before Jesus at either the Bema Seat Judgement of Christ or the White Throne Judgement, you will be judged for what you stood for, the world or Jesus Christ, you can’t have it both ways. Here is a sad truth that I hate to keep sharing, but you need to know the truth.
Matthew 7:13-14; ““Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
What path are you on, the one that supports the world views or do you share the Biblical truths set up by God. Like I just said, you can’t be in the world and serve Jesus Christ at the same time.
Matthew 5:11; “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
For those of you that don’t know what mammon is, it is everything that takes the place of Jesus Christ in your life. I could go on and on with Bible verses that support what I am trying to get across, but I think at this point you should get the picture. You will either despise what I just told you or you will hear what the Bible teaches and give your life to Jesus Christ. All I can do is share what the Holy Spirit puts on my heart to those that are lost and seeking truth. Now, back to the importance of this message. If you decide to choose Jesus Christ and start to follow Him, you will go through periods of tribulation, but know this, Jesus promised that He will be with you all the way to the end.
We read this promise in
Hebrews 13:5; “Let your conduct be without covetousness, be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Do you believe what Jesus says is truth, then show it by your actions. Words mean nothing if actions don’t follow. So, let me end with this last word of advice, if you are attending a church that doesn’t tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, move on because you will be held accountable for what you believe, and if you are not being told the truth, and you believe it as truth, you will be judged accordingly. You will not be able to tell Jesus that you never heard the truth, because He has given us all His words that are written in the pages of the Bible. If you are putting your salvation in the hands of any one religion or pastor, you are a fool!
Eternity is forever, don’t you want to know that you will be forever in the presence of Jesus Christ. It is your choice, once you take your last breath here on earth, the choice that you made will determine your final destination. I’ve said this many times and I will continue to repeat it, please take this message very seriously, time is running out and when time is over, its over! You will exist forever in one of two places. Don’t let anybody tell you, that hell does not exist and is not forever, because it is for those that choose to go there, and yes, it is your choice! So, ask yourself one more time, what will you choose?
Comments